we want to keep that in mind as we head towards the fiscal cliff. only four in 10 americans expect the white house and congress to reach a deal on the cliff before the first of the year, and if this goes south, a 53% of the american people are prepared to blame republicans. the president's job approval rating is well over 50%. congress' approval rating is under 20%. why what a the president back down? >> the president isn't interested in a balanced agreement, not particularly interested in avoiding a fiscal cliff, and clearly not been tested at all in cutting and spending. >> the senate minority leader says that what the president is interested in is getting as much taxpayer money has he can so that he can spend to his heart's content. with his approval ratings going up and congress' numbers at historic lows and the unemployment rate dropping, why with the president back down? charles? >> to some extent he is under estimating the damage she will suffer if -- he suffer if we go over the cliff. it will hurt the republicans in congress, which is why de